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Social Activism Analysis

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First part. The author wants to promote critical reflection that may contribute to the development of social activism. Also, he introduces links between social activism and religion. Moreover the methodology that is used in this chapter is "ethnographic". Rather than examine theoretical aspects of the religious motivation for social engagement, we look at the lives of individuals foe whom religion was a powerful driving force. He stands giving us different definitions of religion.

Second Part. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist, was inspired to pursue nonviolent resistance by a leader outside of his own religious tradition: Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu. As a seminary student, King was introduced to Gandhi’s satyagraha (soul force) philosophy and …show more content…

In this, Malcolm believed that embracing Islam would allow individuals to transcend what is in terms of racism and embrace what can be in terms of recasting oneself in the mode of Allah through the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Like Dr. King, Malcolm X understood that Civil Rights had to be broached within the topic of religion in order to further its cause and move it from a political one to a moral entity. The primary difference was that Malcolm X argued that the spiritual austerity required in Islam prevented people of color, specifically African- Americans, from seeing themselves as secondary to Whites. This meant that a staunch stance of self- defense and self- assertiveness was needed for this was the representation of the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Just as Dr. King believed that nonviolent civil disobedience moved individuals closer to Christian goodness, Malcolm X taught that assertive defense of oneself as a Muslim moves one closer to the teachings of …show more content…

Though cut short by assassin bullets, both recognized the overall importance of spirituality and religion in their causes of Civil Rights. Malcolm X broke away from the Nation of Islam, but never surrendered the idea that all human beings are one under the creative powers of Allah and Islam. Dr. King moved towards a more aggressive stance in countering racism in the North, but never lost sight of how his calling was a Christian one, an element that compelled him to tell his followers to keep persevering even if he is not present "at the mountaintop." In both thinkers, there is a profound understanding that religion was vital in ensuring that Civil Rights was a reality for African- Americans in the 1950s and

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